|
| | Decrease in Obligor's Income |
When a decrease in income makes it impossible for an obligor to make the ordered child support payments and also pay for the parent's necessary living expenses, a decrease in the amount of support may be justified. However, courts appear to be increasingly reluctant to reduce child support, and the obligor seeking a reduction must show that the decrease in income was involuntary.
Job loss.
Loss of the child support obligor's job resulting in no income or a substantially reduced income, particularly for a sustained period of time, may constitute a material and substantial change in circumstances justifying a reduction of the child support obligation. However, reduction in support may be denied if the court finds that the obligor is intentionally unemployed .
Job change.
A reduction in the obligor's income due to a voluntary decision to change employment may justify a decrease in support payments, at least when the change in employment and resulting reduction in income were not designed to reduce support payments. However, reduction in support may be denied if the court finds that the obligor is intentionally underemployed.
Business reversals.
If an obligor undergoes a reduction in income in an attempt to keep an established business financially afloat, the reduced income may be the basis for a reduction in child support. Even a possibly temporary decline in income may justify a reduction in support if the decline amounts to more than a short-term slump.
Leaving work to attend school or start new business.
Voluntarily leaving employment to attend school or start a new business generally does not justify a reduction in child support. For example, a father who retired from the military and quit his part-time job as a medical lab technician in order to attend law school was not entitled to a support reduction because he was held to be intentionally unemployed in light of his educational background and work history. In another case, a father was not entitled to a support reduction because he did not attempt to find employment after voluntarily leaving his job to attend college full-time. Similarly, a father who retired from a police force and enrolled in community college at age 50 was denied a reduction in support on the ground that he was voluntarily underemployed. A father who decided to put his efforts into getting his new business going rather than accepting employment was not entitled to support reduction.
Obligor may be required to sell assets to pay support.
In general, courts are not receptive to an obligor's attempt to modify child support based on a reduction in income when the evidence shows that the obligor has a substantial net worth. The duty to support one's child is not limited to a parent's ability to pay from current earnings but also extends to his or her financial ability to pay from any and all sources that might be available. The mere fact that an obligor has sold assets in order to pay child support does not constitute material and substantial change justifying modification. On the other hand, while savings are a factor in assessing the overall financial ability to pay support, the obligated parent is not required to deplete all savings before a modification is available.
Obligor's Health Problems
A suit to reduce support may be based on medical problems or physical limitations that have decreased the obligor's earning capacity
|
  |
| |
|
|
